Jasher Serienmorder was not having a good day. The wedding was only in two weeks, and the preparations were days behind. The tablecloths had not been selected. The menu was still in flux (Hors d'ouvres still up in the air along with the beverages). The entertainment they had requested quit the day before to play at a bigger gig.
To top it all off, nobody knew where the groom was.
The groom, Didymus Serienmorder, Jasher's son, had not been seen by anyone for two days. He knew Leroy hadn't been in favor of the marriage, but to run away like this wasn't what he was expecting at all. Jasher was worried about his son, but ultimately, he's a Serienmorder. The family hadn't risen to power by growing daisies. Didymus could handle himself out there. What really worried him was the bride's father. Lord Sashikizu was not a man you wanted to cross, and if he found out about the missing groom, there's no knowing what he might do.
----------------------------------------
Sashikizu Arata was not having a good day. Moving to this backwater nation may have been a mistake, but it wasn't one that he could go back on. Learning a whole new set of customs had been a strain, and after receiving his noble title he had to learn another set of customs on top of that. Through all of that he had never participated in a wedding. He had attended a few, but didn't really know what was going on, and certainly never had a significant role like this. It was going to be a long two weeks of studying to catch up on learning everything that everyone else already knew.
Also, nobody knew where the bride was.
The bride, Sashikizu Bilhah, Arata's daughter hadn't been seen by anyone for three whole days. He knew Bilhah had been unhappy about the engagement, but he wasn't expecting her to take it this far. He wasn't really worried about her safety, after all, he had taught her everything he knew. That was how she had managed to get out undetected . What really worried him was the groom's father. Lord Serienmorder was a man with many connections and a formidable family history, and if he found out about the missing bride, there's no telling what he could do.
----------------------------------------
Didymus spent the better half of the day trying to choose a pseudonym. Sumydid sounded too weird, and Idymusday was a little too on the nose. "I might have to come up with something entirely original," he mumbled to himself as he walked along the forest path.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
It was two days since he had left home, and he was finally out of his father's jurisdiction. He was in county space now, between his father's barony and the next. It was a double edged sword for people who want to stay hidden. There weren't many people around who would cause trouble, but if anyone did, the incident would be handled by the count's estate. Not exactly a good way to avoid attention.
As he walked along he heard a low rumble at the edge of hearing. He paused and glanced around, his hand coming to rest on his axe at his waist. "Who's there!" he shouted. In response, the rumbling grew to a growl and a hellhound stepped out from behind a tree. Three more emerged behind it. He readied his axe and charged.
----------------------------------------
Bilhah awoke to the sound of shouting and growling from the forest floor below her. She looked down from the branch she was resting on and saw a young man with an axe charging a pack of hellhounds. His swings were controlled and powerful, whistling as they ripped through the air. He kept himself crouched, and light on his feet, never giving any of the hounds an opening to strike. His defensive movements were quite good, and his attacks were plenty strong, but he seemed to be having some trouble connecting any of his swings with his opponents. The air around the hellhounds warped and stretched from the heat, and ghostly flames danced along their fur, further obscuring their form. This young man clearly had no experience fighting hellhounds. They were always a little further away than they looked. To make matters worse, the pack had spread out to try to surround him. "I should probably go help," she muttered and stood up on the branch.
She stretched her shoulders for a few seconds, and was surprised to hear laughter from below her. It was an unusual laugh, and would have been unsettling if she hadn't heard it before. It was the laugh of a berserker, someone who drew upon the primal rage of the natural world to strengthen themselves in battle. It was a powerful technique, but not without its risks. Many berserkers had lost themselves to the rage and abandoned their humanity.
She looked down and saw as the young man's eyes began to glow red. In a flash he seemed to disappear, and appear again behind one of the hounds. Its body fell limp as its head slid off to the side. "That was certainly impressive," She thought to herself, "I couldn't even track his movement. And such a clean cut too. Not what I was expecting from an axe-wielding berserker." The other hounds backed away in a panic, but it didn't help much. A red blur flashed around the three, and they were dead before they knew what had happened.
The red glow began to fade and the man stumbled a bit, leaning on his axe for support. Bilhah frowned. "Did he not notice the fifth hound hiding on the other side of the trail?" It seemed to sense that the man had relaxed because it began to sprint out of the woods toward him. Bilhah jumped, planning to intercept the final beast, and landed without a sound. She transitioned into a roll and in a single movement pulled a knife out of her cloak and slipped it into the hound's neck, severing its spine.
The mysterious berserker turned around at the sound of the dead beast hitting the ground, a look of surprise written on his face.
"You missed one"